Trends in NCAA Student-Athlete Gambling Behaviors and Attitudes

Over the course of 4 study iterations (2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016), more than 84,000 NCAA student-athletes across all three NCAA divisions were surveyed about their attitudes toward and engagement in different forms of gambling.

Quantitative Data Highlights

Of Women NCAA student-athletes:

• 14% of NCAA women first gambled prior to entering high school.
• 31% of NCAA women first gambled in college.
• Over 1/2 of NCAA women who’ve gambled for money reported the largest one-day loss is less than $10.
• 13% of NCAA women gamblers have ever lost more than $50 in a day.

Violating NCAA ByLaws:

• 5% of NCAA women reported violating NCAA bylaws within the previous year by wagering on sports for money.
• 82% of NCAA women are aware of the sports wagering rules in Division I (vs 64% of NCAA women in Division III).
• Of these women:
  • 82% of NCAA women who have ever bet on sports placed their first bet before entering college.
  • 44% of NCAA women who bet on sports in the past year bet on the NFL (top sports wagering target for both men and women).
  • 15% of NCAA women who reported wagering on sports in the 2016 survey placed bets electronically.
  • 10% of NCAA women have participated in free fantasy sports leagues.

 Fantasy Sports

• 3% of NCAA women in the 2016 study reported having played in fantasy leagues with an entry fee and prize money during the past year (similar to what was seen in the 2008 and 2012 surveys).
• 2% of NCAA women surveyed in 2016 said they had recently played daily or weekly online fantasy sports contests for money (these participants overlapped substantially with those who reported playing season-long fantasy games).

Identified Risk Factors

• Targeted marketing.

Identified Protective Factors

• Media literacy.
• Identifying as an NCAA woman student athlete (comparatively to NCAA men student athletes).

Qualitative Data Highlights

• Participation in most gambling activities decreased among all student-athletes despite the expansion of land-based and online gambling opportunities during this time (2017).
• Rates of playing in fantasy leagues with an entry fee and prize money in 2016 are similar to what was seen in the 2008 and 2012 surveys.
• Women engage in nearly all gambling activities at much lower rates than men.
• Student-athlete gambling debts are a well-being concern, but also a worry for potential vulnerability to outside gambling influences.

Gaming and Gambling

• NCAA students continue to report engaging in some form of simulated gambling activity via social media sites, videogame consoles or mobile devices.
• These games are being increasingly marketed toward youth.

Identified Challenges

• 31% of NCAA women think sports wagering is a harmless pastime.
  • These figures are substantially higher among those NCAA women (61%) who wager on sports.

Identified Actions

• Continued enhancements and innovations in educational programming are necessary to protect student-athlete well-being and contest fairness. These NCAA athletic programs should:
  • Help all involved in NCAA athletics recognize risk factors associated with problem gambling,
  • Provide up-to-date information on the science and technology of gambling and sports wagering (e.g., betting lines are set using a great deal of data/research; gamblers can easily reach student-athletes through social media), and
  • Promote strategies for discussing perceptions and normative expectations associated with gambling/wagering (e.g., being an athlete does not necessarily mean one has the insight required to make money wagering on sports, as many student-athletes believe).